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Silver plated copper parts are turning brown

Q. I am a quality control intern and I am investigating some problems my company has had with silver cyanide plated copper parts that we get from one of our suppliers. The two problems we have had are oxidation (parts turning brown) and copper sulphate ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] (blue crystallization on the parts). I know that sulfur can accelerate the oxidation process and our parts are shipped to us in cardboard boxes which could contain sulfur. What other elements (environmental or other packaging techniques) could accelerate this process? We have had instances where our silver plated parts looked fine before we shipped them, but were brown when they arrived to our customer. Concerning the copper sulphate, I have heard that even if you buff away the blue crystals they will still come back because the copper sulphate is constantly reacting and eating through the silver plating. Is this true? Is there any way to neutralize or stop the blue crystals after they have been removed? Do the blue crystals affect the conductivity of current of the silver plated parts? Finally, how long does it take, typically, for the crystals to form? Maybe environmental factors affect that time span. Any feedback to any to the above questions or a suggested book or website for more information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Chad Adler
Quality Control Intern - Columbia, Missouri, U.S.A.
2007

Q. Hi, I'm an intern with a company that produces circuit breakers. We use copper parts that have been plated with silver cyanide. We are having big problems with these parts turning brown when we receive them at our plant. We have received containers of parts that will have 2 or 3 perfectly plated parts, but the others will all be brown (oxidized). Also, it's only the top half turning brown. These parts arrive in totes and are set in a foam insert to prevent them from rubbing against each other. The lower half that was in the foam is perfectly plated while the top half is brown. What's happening here? I'm wondering if oxidation of these types of parts is caused by something that wasn't rinsed off well enough during the plating process or if it's the environment that the parts are stored in. Maybe it's a combination of both. What are the major factors that contribute to the oxidation of silver cyanide on copper parts? I know there are additives that are put on parts after plating to prevent oxidation, but if the plating is good there shouldn't be any oxidation or need for such additives. Any information about the causes of oxidation on these types of parts would be very helpful since the internet hasn't helped much with my search. Thank you for your time and feedback.

Chad Adler [returning]
Quality Control Intern - Columbia, Missouri, USA

A. Silver and copper diffuse into each other rapidly. You MUST have a diffusion barrier. I recommend nickel plate. Robert H Probert Robert H Probert Technical Services Garner, North Carolina A. You seem to have answered your own question. You say that the parts on the top of the tote always have bad (brown) plating but those below the foam do not. Now a little deductive reasoning will tell you that the parts on top have been exposed to something the rest have not. I m sure the plater will tell you they have all been finished the same and treated the same, therefore, the only variable is the atmosphere the top parts are exposed to Gene Packman - Great Neck, New York A. Hello Chad, This is a common problem with silver plating over copper. With no barrier plate such as nickel, the copper migrates into the silver plated layer. As you probably already know copper oxidizes and silver tarnishes. The way to minimize the problem is to make sure the silver plating bath contains metallic contaminants that are below suggested limits. If copper and or iron are co - depositing with the silver the silver plate will tarnish much quicker. The use of a silver strike is beneficial because most of the contaminants will be held in the strike bath instead of the final silver plate bath. A strike bath is much cheaper to change when the contaminants get too high because the silver metal concentration is much lower than the final plate bath. Another aspect to consider is the silver plated thickness. Let's say the plater's silver bath is low in contaminants as mentioned above. If the silver plated thickness is too low, migration of the copper into the silver layer is accelerated. Atmospheric conditions can also play a part, humidity and plating floor fumes are some examples. As far as the packing goes the packer should change gloves often, the brownish appearance could be caused by poor handling, or the simple fact that the top of the packed parts are exposed to the air, contributing to the problem. Now, let's list some preventative measures. 1) Make sure the silver plating bath is low in contaminants. 2) Ask if a silver strike is being employed, if not it should be. 3) Make sure the silver plating thickness is what you call for. 4) Ask about handling procedures, shipping containers or material must be sulfur free. Maybe the foam containing the parts can be sealed in plastic. 5) See if a solder friendly anti - tarnish can be used. Best wishes in your internship! Mark Baker Process Engineer - Syracuse, New York A. Silver plated parts tarnishing during shipment is a very common problem. some ways to correct it are: 1. Dip the parts in an anti-tarnish coating before shipping 2. Package the parts in a metallized plastic bag so that sulfur fumes from diesel trucks and jet engines can not get to the plated surface 3. Use sulfur free packaging materials Copper crystals on the surface of the silver are caused by porous silver. things that reduce porosity are smooth base metal, good filtration, small grain size, etc. Pat Mentone St Paul, Minnesota 2007

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Q. Hi, I am also a quality control intern in a company of commutators and I am investigating a similar problem as Chad.

We are producing copper base for commutators which are sent for silver plating to some other company. One batch came back with small amount of some blue corrosion on hardly accessible places. We made a SEM analysis of crystals which in most cases shows big amount of potassium (more then 50%), other elements are copper (probably from the base), silver from plating and some elements in traces.

We suggest that these crystals are some kind of copper salts but the problem is potassium. We know that it's used in big amounts in baths for silver plating as potassium cyanide, but I didn't find any answer what exactly are these crystals, because of potassium. The only thing I found on internet is Copper-potassium Oxalate dihydrate.

The amount of substance is very small (4 hours for scratching 0,3 micrograms of sample) so it's very hard to make some decent analysis. We are thinking of XRD also but we have to pay for this.

I'd be very thankful for any idea.

Miha Kovae
- Ljubljana, Slovenia
November 6, 2012

Ed. note: Sorry, this RFQ is old & outdated, so contact info is no longer available. However, if you feel that something technical should be said in reply, please post it; no public commercial suggestions please ( huh? why?)

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Q. We are making silver plated products; however, the product becomes yellowish or tarnished. We use copper as the material.

We need solution for tarnish but we have to follow regulation from our buyer that they be nickel, lead and cadmium free.

Can anyone give me solutions how to cover this problem?

Thank you.

Yolita Ainun Rahmawati
- Jakarta, Indonesia
October 25, 2013

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Silver plating turning brown

Q. Why would silver plating turn brown during plating? We never had this happen before.

charity mclain
- manvel, Texas
August 20, 2014

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Q. I have a question that is related to this brown discoloration. Recently, at my company we have been electroplating small materials, of brass and copper, with a silver electroplating solution that does not use cyanide. The solution is from "gold plating solutions" and it is suggested that a stainless steel anode is used.

After electroplating I noted that the subject that was plated would have bright silver on the side closest to the anode, while the opposite side had a duller silver that almost seemed to show the brass when held in hand (using a cloth that does not shed particles or dust).

Why is the discoloration only apparent on one side of my subject?

Anna Polakovsky
- Charleroi Pennsylvania
September 3, 2020